Welcome To The Future BMW I8 Review (Part 2)

Welcome To The Future BMW I8 Review (Part 2)

Once in and with the start button pressed, the dash springs into life. There’s no turnover of the engine, no exhaust note- and just a very faint sound of electrics in action. If you’ve downloaded the i8 app, you can have the car cooled (or heated) to your preference, and if you’ve stopped for lunch and are charging the battery pack, you can see just how the car is doing.

BMW i8 interior

There are three driving modes, e-Drive, Comfort and Sport - each offering different blends of electric and internal combustion engine drive. Eco Pro mode can be used in both e-Drive and Comfort modes to further extend range of the car.

E-Drive is tremendous for smug urban commuting, and Comfort for milking the system for every inch of travel for every amp and drop of fuel used, but the pre-ferred mode of operation is Sport where the front electric motor, the turbo-charged 1.5-litre engine and a second -electric motor contribute 362 combined horse-power to the cause. Other than the occasional whir, the motors are quiet at work. The engine overcompensates with a civilised idle burble and a self-assured sports-car thrum. Leg it and there’s an appropriate rise in feistiness but no clue as to the number of cylinders feeding the turbo, which huffs 22 psi of boost into this British-built, long-stroke three.

BMW i8 engine

Response to the right pedal is initially sluggish, then impressively potent once all three power providers chime in. The best engine notes are cued by the Aisin six speed automatic’s upshifts. Every rip braap from the pipes cleanses the mind of hybrid notions. The two-speed GKN automatic between the 131-hp AC motor and the front wheels is this powertrain’s silent partner. The first ratio is used to propel the car off the line and put to speeds of 120 km/h where the second ration kicks.

That should dispatch the sprint to 100 km/h in around 4.0 s and push the car to complete the 1/4 mile in 12.4 seconds. Top speed is limited to 250 km/h.

The i8 rolls on 20-inch all0ys shod with tyres that cut rolling resistance to a minimum. In electric mode, the only noise you hear is the distance burr of the tyres patting the road

Driving like a hooligan obviously taxes the battery and fuel consumption. While eking out the miles in e-Drive and Eco Pro can see motorway consumption plummet to 2.1l/100 km, flat out driving will see that rise to 12l/100 km. That’s the worst it gets, and after a day hammering about Milan’s back roads, we managed to return an average of around 8.4l/100 km.

For all of its tech, the BMW i8 is a devastatingly quick performance car. It lacks ultimate feedback through its suspension and steering, but the car’s electronically managed dampers and ride keep the car’s balance in check even when pushed over windy roads. With its major components mounted low in the chassis, the i8 feels lighter and more agile that its size may suggest.

BMW i8 doors opened

As performance and sports drivers, we may be lacking range in the reasonably affordable plug-in hybrid stakes, but the choice we have is a deeply impressive one, and one worth getting in line for now.